Bill would delay test for new teachers

A bill in the state Assembly would delay for one year a requirement that would-be teachers pass a new video-based exam before certification, the Journal News.

College education programs and students have expressed concern that they have not been given enough time to prepare for the test, which the state Education Department sees as a "bar-like" exam for teachers.

As of May 1, college students will not be eligible for certification unless they pass the exam, known as the edTPA for "education teacher performance assessment." But a bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, D-Manhattan, chairwoman of the Assembly Higher Education Committee, would delay the requirement until July 1, 2015.

"I don't believe there has been sufficient time for educators in these college programs to be sure they are giving students adequate information," Glick said.

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Glick said she expects a companion bill to be sponsored soon in the state Senate. She is planning to hold a hearing on the test within weeks.

The exam asks that college students, while doing their student teaching, prepare lessons aligned to the Common Core standards and then use video to show their instruction and to assess pupils. They also have to write 30 pages of answers to questions linked to the Common Core.

Many college students are doing their student teaching now.

State education officials say college programs have known the test was coming for several years. But Glick said the Education Department did not finalize requirements until 2013.

"Right now, the passage rate on the exam is 80 percent and the (state Board of) Regents have committed to discuss a possible safety-net option for students who have not passed the exam when they meet later this month," he said. "It is our strong hope that we will be able to keep the bar high, now and going forward."

Stanford University created the edTPA and chose Pearson Inc. to administer and grade the exam.

Glick said she was concerned about student teachers needing to get parental permission to film youngsters in classrooms, a potential delay.

"Parents are more and more concerned about protecting their children's privacy," she said.